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Birth
Karl Heinrich Marx was born in Trier, Prussia in the year 1818. Today, what was Prussia is now a part of Germany. His father, Heinrich Marx was ironically enough, a middle class lawyer that made more than enough money for his family to get by. Marx's father had converted to Protestantism to escape persecution in Prussia.
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Marx Marries Jenny von Westphalen
At the age of 18, Marx married Jenny von Westphalen, a member of a prominent family in Trier. The two were married while Marx was attending the University of Bonn, a place where Marx was also arrested for drunkenness and attempting to duel another student. Marx and Westphalen would remain married to each other for the rest for their lives.
(Kreis), (History.com staff) and (Coolidge 1). -
Theodor Schwann Comes up with Part of the Cell Theory
Theodore Scwann was a German physician that said all animals are made up of cells. The cell theory has three parts. Number one is that all living things are made of cells, number two is all necessary reactions for life occur within the cell, and three is that all cells are produced from other cells. Scwann's realization that all animals are made of cells helped the scientific community to develop the cell theory.
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Marx Becomes the Editor of the Rheinische Zeitung
Marx was made the editor of a very liberal newspaper, The "Rheinische Zeitung," in 1842. Here, Marx took his first steps into becoming the Father of Communism. The Rheinische Zeitung gave Marx his first opportunity to publish his ideas. Unfortunately for Marx, this platform was taken away from him almost as soon as he received it. Due to the paper's rising popularity and its increasing extremism, the Prussian government shut it down.
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Marx Moves to Paris
After the closing of the Rheinische Zeitung, Marx left Prussia in hopes of finding somewhere his ideas would be more accepted. At the time Paris was home to many of the World's top socialist thinkers, and many of them had similar ideas as Marx. While in Paris Marx met Friedrich Engels, a lifelong friend of Marx, and co-author of the "Communist Manifesto". Engels would also support Marx financially for nearly all his life.
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Marx is Expelled From France
Marx did not do, or write anything major while in Paris, but the Prussian government still got involved and had him kicked out of the country. Marx would move to Belgium, where he would also be kicked out in 1847. During this time period, Marx tried to start up the, "Rheinische Zeitung" again calling it the, "Neue Rheinische Zeitung," only this time his articles were strictly about criticizing the Prussian autocracy. After floating around Europe for a few years, Marx settled in London.
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Marx and Engels Write, "The German Ideology"
At this point in time Marx had seen a lot of the world and was ready to write his first major work. Marx and Engels wrote the, "German Ideology," a book that analyzed history and said that throughout history, societies had been set up to only show support to the rich. The book had trouble finding a publisher and was not actually published until after Marx's death. The "German Ideology" provides a glimpse into the mind of the father of Communnism early on in his career.
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Marx Joins the Communist League in London
After being expelled from Brussels and Paris, Marx settled his family in London for good. While in London, Marx joined the Communist League, a group of Communists in London. The Communist League wanted the working class to take over and become the ruling class. They were also the ones to ask Marx and Engels to write Marx's claim to fame, "The Communist Manifesto." Although Marx was working on something he loved, he could not support his family due to his lack of cash.
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Marx Writes "The Communist Manifesto"
Marx's most famous work is undoubtedly, "The Communist Manifesto." While Marx was living in London, the Communist league commissioned him and lifelong friend, Friedrich Engels to write a summary of their ideas. The Communist Manifesto was a ruthless critique of Capitalism, a form of government and economy that is the natural opposite of Communism. The book outlined Communism as a form of government that put the working class in charge, and made all the citizens financially equal.
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The Mormons Found Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City was founded by members of the Mormon Church, the group was led by a man named Brigham Young, and they were looking for a place to worship in peace. The name, "Salt Lake City," comes from the fact it is founded on the shore of a lake with a very high level of salt inside. Salt Lake City is now the capital of Utah, one of the 50 states part of the U.S.A.
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"New York Times" Opens
One of the most famous papers of all time that still exists today, is the New York Times. The Times were founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Raymond. The goal of the paper was to be printed everyday, excluding Sundays, and inform the people of current events. All the way up to today, the paper has accomplished its original goal, and still remains a leading news source in today's world.
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Daily Weather Forecasts Begin in Britain
A man named Robert FitzRoy was the person who first started to broadcast weather to people in Britain. FitzRoy was an admiral in the British Navy, and some think he may have been anassistant to Charles Darwain. At first, FitzRoy founded the Meteorological Department of he Board of Trade (Met office for short) to forecast winds, helping sailors improve their travel times. In 1861 the Met office began to predict the weather and share their forecast with the British people.
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The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
The civil war was over in 1865 and many famous battles, such as Gettysburg, were now in the past. President Abraham Lincoln was the leader of the Northern forces who helped get rid of slavery. While he and his wife were watching a play, a man named John Wilkes Booth shot the president in the back of the head. Wilkes Booth was a famous actor of the time, but like many was upset with Lincoln for abolishing slavery, he was executed for killing the president.
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Das Kapital
Even though the Communist Manifesto was Marx's most famous work, his personal masterpiece was, "Das Kapital" (also known as "Capital"). Marx wrote Das Kapital late in his life and most volumes were published after his death by his friend, Friedrich Engels. Das Kapital was an extreme critique of Capitalism, saying that it laid the seeds of its own destruction, and that Capitalism will always inevitably turn into Communism.
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Karl Benz Builds the World's First Motorized Car
On New Year's Eve in 1878, Karl Benz ran the world's first motorized car. Benz's car saw great commercial success and he was able to use the profits from the first car, and work on designing a more fuel efficient and productive motor. The car Benz made was only one cylinder and had only two strokes, meaning its power pales in comparison to the cars of today.
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Karl Marx's Death
Karl Marx died in 1883 of pleurisy. Marx died, and is buried in London at Highgate Cemetery. Marx was, and still is one of the most controversial men of all time. His ideas have been tried in many countries, most prominently Russia, and have failed in almost every single way. Communism's purpose was to make everyone rich but it often ends up with only a select few gaining power, and the government without fail, becomes a dictatorship, despite this Communism is still in practice today.
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